Dirty Three: "Toward The Low Sun" Review
Toward The Low Sun may be the best Dirty Three album in over a decade. While I think that both 2005’s Cinder and 2003’s She Has No Strings Apollo are undeservedly maligned, there is no denying that Low Sun does a better job of recapturing the magic that the Dirty Three found in their earlier records. They don’t compromise here, either. The band has been accused of losing sight of melody for the complexity of their sonic adventurousness. Low Sun is by no means pared down. Without “dumbing down” their sound, however, the band crafts structures that complement the melodies without obscuring them.
Well . . . except for record opener “Furnace Skies.” The album’s first track is a blast of guitar noise, irregular beats, and general chaos. It’s as if, at the start, the band is trying to get the mess all out of their systems before moving on. The rest of Low Sun is full of the Dirty Three’s elegant instrumental folk/jazz oeuvre. “Sometimes I Forget You’re Gone” strips down an aberrant piano melody and accompanies it with Jim White’s drumming, which sounds as if he’s trying to hit every drum and cymbal simultaneously. Warren Ellis’s violin doesn’t take its customary prominent position within the band’s sound until lovely folk ballad “Moon on the Land,” which is also enhanced by mandolin and more restrained drumming from White.
Ellis takes the lead on the record’s two best tracks, driving both “Rising Below” and “Rain Song” with some of his most evocative violin melodies since Whatever You Love, You Are. The former focuses mainly on the dynamic between guitarist Mick Turner and Ellis’s multi-tracked strings. Between the two of them, Turner and Ellis produce a vibrant melancholy that, in line with the band’s aesthetic, climaxes in an orgasm of instrumentation. “Rain Song” mainly consists of Ellis’s disconsolate strings and picking, which wander across the span of the funereal tune before ending in a whimper.
Low Sun ends impressively, with “That Was, Was,” “Ashen Snow,” and “You Greet Her Ghost” finishing the backend of the record with impassioned sadness, particularly with the addition of a forlorn flute on “Ashen Snow.” The closing is reminiscent of some of the Dirty Three’s finest late-’90s/early-2000s work, concentrating on violin-led melodies evocative of a wide array of emotional responses. In fact, while every emotion from extreme pain to extreme joy is explored in the space of the instrumental tracks, the one response that never comes to mind is boredom. The Dirty Three have always been a thrill to listen to, and on Toward the Low Sun, the thrill never comes at the expense of complexity. If the band’s fire was simmering low throughout most of the 2000s, it is certainly roaring again.
—Jon Behm
Toward the Low Sun will be available on 2/28 via Drag City Records
Dirty Three At WOMADelaide.
Having heard much noise about the Dirty Three and having seen the Bad Seeds in concert I was interested to see what all the fuss was about so I went along to catch their WOMAD gig in Adelaide last night.
Crowds packed in front of the stage to watch the guys do their thing and there were hoots of excitement from sections of the audience as they took to the stage.
It was not long however before large sections of the crowd broke away and headed off to see what else was playing as the Dirty Three launched into what can only really best be described as a cacophony of sound.
For the duration of the performance the front man had his back to the audience and although jumping manically about the place rarely gave an indication that he was performing to a crowd except to yell and hoot inaudibly at times.
The first few numbers sounded entirely improv and as my friend asked “do you think they even rehearsed this?” they launched into another song which sounded more like a live jam session than a rehearsed performance. ..
Following repetitive introductions from a clearly intoxicated front man who seems to have written most of his songs about his email collection, the band lurched into a song which would have sounded like a nice ballad if it were not for the constant smashing of drums which contributed little but to drown out the rest of the band.
By the time the Dirty Three were into their fourth song many of the audience, apparently unimpressed with what I would describe as self indulgence, were walking away, leaving behind those who were perhaps more interested in spectacle than musicianship.
My lasting impression of the Dirty Three as I joined the throng of people heading toward the exit was that if I had paid money to watch them I would have been left feeling short changed.
We were made aware during the introduction of the band’s impressive involvement in the Australian music scene. However, following their performance at WOMAD last night, I am inclined to think that perhaps they have allowed their reputations to go to their heads because their performance last night left much to be desired.
I have to say that while they can obviously play their instruments (and in parts there were sections that sounded melodic and even pretty), as an ensemble they sounded detached and unrehearsed and far too often fell back on a wall of sound that lacked finesse and was hard to watch.
Audiences deserve a bit better really!
Maybe the Dirty Three just aren’t your thing?